Timothy Bradley aiming to return from injury in December

Timothy Bradley is aiming for a winter return to the ring once he has come through his rehabilitation after suffering a severe calf injury in his last bout.

The former WBO welterweight champion tore his calf in two places during the rematch with Manny Pacquiao, which saw him lose his world title in April.

Bradley is now on the road to recovery and aiming to make his return to the ring in December providing his rehabilitation continues to progress.

There has been plenty of speculation as to who the American will fight next with Miguel Cotto being outlined as a possible opponent. However the Puerto Rican has recently won the WBC middleweight title against Sergio Martinez so for that to happen Bradley would be required to move weight classes.

Plenty of options

Although the 30-year-old has not singled any one out just yet and is adamant that once his is ready to make his return he will have plenty of options available to him.

"I'm just thinking about myself right now," said Bradley, who has a 31-1 record since turning pro in 2004. "As far as opponents, there are definitely guys lining up to fight me. There are guys wanting to mess up my record, give me that No. 2 (loss) on my rèsumè. I know there are a lot of guys who want to fight me, so we'll see. December is a long time away."

Dismissing rumors

Bradley also dismissed all the rumours that are currently circulating about him moving up to middleweight to challenge Cotto for his world title, although it is something that interests him.

"Honestly, I really haven't spoken to anyone about it," Bradley said. "I haven't mentioned anything, and no one has mentioned it to me. I'm not sure how everybody is saying it's a done deal, that we're going to be fighting or that we've even thought about it. I'm open to anything that makes sense. But I haven't heard anything. Don't believe everything that you read, you know what I'm saying? Don't believe everything you read."

Neither Bradley nor Cotto have fought at the middleweight limit of 160Ibs, with Cotto winning the belt via the catch limit of 159Ibs, and if this fight was to happen it would be expected to be fought even lower at 156Ibs.

Since Bradley is currently without a title for the first time in six years, he's not obligated to fight in any one weight class and he has stated that he would have interest in fighting in the light middleweight division.

"My preference would be to go up and try something different, something new," Bradley said. "I already did the 140 thing. I already accomplished a lot at 140. At 147, I've done some things there. I wouldn't mind testing the waters at a higher weight."

Cotto demonstrated true quality when he defeated Martinez and looked as though he could carry his own against many legitimate middleweight fighters, but a potential match-up with Bradley looks merely like a Top Rank stunt to keep all the money and titles in-house.

Although this is still all speculation as nothing has yet been confirmed. Bradley himself is simply focused on recovering from his horrific injury and coming back stronger and better.

"This was a bad injury. It was nothing to play with," Bradley said. "Everything is great. I'm feeling really good, I'm really confident. I'll be 100 percent. Once my rehab is over and my trainer says I can go back into the gym, that's when I'm going to be back in the gym. If it's all good, I'll be in the gym in August. I'm trying to take as much precaution as I can so this won't happen again."

The defeat to Pacquiao in April ended a six-year run where Bradley won ten championship fights, including four belts, and he is adamant that he doesn't want to be without a belt for much longer.

"I'm telling you, I want to get my title back," Bradley said. "That's the only thing on my mind, getting my title back. I'm a lot more hungry now because I lost my title. Somebody's in trouble. I'm just telling you whoever it is, they will be in trouble."

Cotto is one of the more popular names in boxing and a potential bout with Bradley would be sure to generate mass appeal but it is also a fight that would infuriate many, as one of the most coveted belts in boxing should surely be contested by a true middleweight.

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DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

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